Aharon Cizling (Zisling) was born in Russia in 1901, and became Israel's Agriculture Minister in
1948-49. Cizling was one
of two influential members of the Mapam party to join the first Israeli Cabinet,
who also was a member of Ein Howd Kibbutz, 14 km
south
of Haifa. In the early
days of the "Jewish state", the Mapam party reflected a bizarre
mixture of military activism, verging on expansionism, and a deep commitment to
Jewish-Arab co-existence in peace. They also advocated that Israel should occupy
the West Bank from (H.M. The King
Abdullah) of Jordan and to established a
"friendly" Palestinian state.

As it will be concluded
from the quotes below, Cizling was
among a handful of Zionists who displayed some empathy with th Palestinian DISPOSSESSION.

Famous Quotes

During the course of the 1948 war, reports of WAR
CRIMES (perpetrated by the Israeli soldiers at al-Dawayima
northwest of Hebron) reached the Israeli Cabinet. These atrocities shocked Aharon Cizling, and during a Cabinet meeting he stated:

"I've received a letter on the subject. I must say that I have known
what things have been like for some time and I have raised the issue several
times already here. However after reading this letter I couldn't sleep last
night. I felt the things that were going on were hurting my soul, the soul of
my family and all of us here. I could not imagine where we came from and to
where are we going. . . . I often disagree when the term Nazi was applied to
the British. I wouldn't like to use the term, even though the British
committed Nazi crimes. But now Jews too have behaved like Nazis and my entire
being has been shaken. . . . Obviously we have to conceal these actions from
the public, and I agree that we should not even reveal that we're
investigating them. But they must be investigated. . . ." (1949,
The First Israelis, p. 26 & Benny
Morris, p. 233)

Aharon Cizling empathized with the plight of the Palestinian refugees. He said during a Cabinet meeting:

"We still do not properly appreciate what kind of enemy we are now
nurturing outside the borders of our state. Our enemies, the Arab states, are
mere nothing compared with those hundreds of thousands of [Palestinian] Arabs
who will be moved by hatred and hopelessness and infinite hostility to wage war
on us, regardless of any agreement we might be reached. . . . " (1949,
The First Israelis, p. 31)

The common view (which has gripped Israel since
its inception) that Arabs could only appreciate the language of force, and any
other forms of communication would be interpreted as weakness. Click
here to read our response to this argument.

On June 16 1948 Aharon Cizling spoke at length about the destruction of the
Palestinian villages in a cabinet
meeting :

"[Destruction of a site during battle] is one thing. But [if a site is
destroyed] a month later, in cold blood, out of political calculation . . .
that is another thing altogether . . . This course [of destroying villages]
will not reduce the number of [Palestinian] Arabs who will return to the Land
of Israel. It will [only] increase the number of [our] enemies." (Benny
Morris, p. 163)

On the same day he cautioned the Israeli
cabinet (a few weeks after the expulsion Lydda's and Ramla's
inhabitants):

"We are embarking on a course that will most greatly endanger any hope
of peaceful alliance with forces who could be our allies in the Middle East ....
Hundreds of thousands of [Palestinian] Arabs who will be evicted from Palestine,
even if they are to blame, and left hanging in the midair, will grow to hate us.
If you do things in the heat of the war, in the midst of the battle, it's
one thing. But if after a month, you do it in cold blood, for political reason,
in public, that is something altogether different. And I'm speaking now not only
of moral considerations but also of political considerations." (Simha
Flapan, p. 110 & Expulsion Of The Palestinians, p.
191)

And on the same subject, he also said during a Cabinet meeting:

"I have to say that this phrase [regarding the treatment of Ramla's
inhabitants] is a subtle order to EXPEL
the [Palestinian] Arabs from Ramla. If I'd receive such an order this is how
I would interpret it. An order given during the conquest which states that the
door is open and that all [Palestinian] Arabs may leave, regardless of age,
and sex, or they may stay, however, the army will not be responsible for
providing food. When such things are said during actual conquest, at the
moment of conquest, and after all that has already happened in Jaffa
and other places. . . . I would interpret it as a warning: save yourself
while you can get out." (1949,
The First Israelis, p. 27)

And also went on to describe his dismay at the LOOTING
of Ramla City (ironically, not at for
raping Palestinian women). He said:

". ..It's been said that . 'there were cases of rape in Ramla.
I can forgive rape, but I will not forgive other acts which seem to me much
worse. When they enter a town and forcibly remove rings from the fingers and
jewelry from someone's neck, that's a very grave matter. ... Many are guilty
of it." (1949,
The First Israelis, p. 71-72)

Aharon Cizling wrote Ben-Gurion
of the looting frenzy which gripped Israelis (civilians and soldiers):

"Again and again in our meetings we discuss the issue of the abandoned
property. Everyone expresses shock, bitterness and shame, but we have yet to
find a solution. ..up to now we have dealt with individual looters, both
soldiers and civilians. Now, however, there are more and more reports about
acts which, judging by their nature and extent, could only have been carried
out by (government) order. I ask. ..on what basis was the order given (I hear
it has been held back to dismantle all the water pumps in the Arab orange
groves). ...If there is any foundation to the reports which have reached me,
the responsibility rests with a government agency....Meanwhile, private
plundering still goes on, too." (1949,
The First Israelis, p. 73-74)

In the latter half of 1948, the settlement department of the Jewish Agency
prepared a list of several dozen Arab villages which it proposed to repopulate
with new immigrants. Most of the villages had been emptied of their Palestinian
owners, but a few were not
quite empty. Some were destined to be demolished and their lands to be used for new
settlements. Some of the Cabinet ministers criticized the army for demolishing
some of the villages it occupied. The subject was brought up time after time by
Ministers Shitrit, Bentov and Cizling.

"As I travel about I hear rumors about the destruction of property and
I should like to know who gave the order to do this," said Cizling at one
meeting. "I was in Beit Shean and was told by people I trust that the any
commander had received an order to destroy the place. ...These are facts about
villages which I have seen destroyed. In the Hefer Valley I saw Arab villages
which had been abandoned by their inhabitants and were not destroyed during
the campaign. Now they are in ruins and whoever did it should be called upon
to explain. ..." Ben-Gurion replied: "When you say Beit Shean, that
is a particular place. But when you mention generally 'ruined villages'-I
can't send people to look for ruined villages." Cizling asked: "Who
destroyed the village of Cherkass in
the Hefer Valley? At an earlier meeting I mentioned Moussa Goldenberg who
reported an order to DESTROY
40 villages and named you, as the source of that order. I stated then that I
did not believe it was really done in your name. I am not speaking now about
the political aspect, but about things which seem to be happening by
themselves, without control. Even if I agreed with a certain act-I wouldn't
accept it being done by itself." (1949,
The First Israelis, p. 84)